Dodgers Reveal Wild Card Roster With Multiple Big Surprises

Sep 20, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Michael Conforto (23) reacts after scoring a run during the third inning against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Dodgers officially released their 26-man roster for the Wild Card round versus the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday morning.

In a shocking turn of events, two regular performers throughout the entire regular season were dropped from the team.

Pitcher Anthony Banda and outfielder Michael Conforto did not make the final roster for manager Dave Roberts.

Here’s your 26-man roster for the Wild Card Series. pic.twitter.com/Nmdh8BLkyS

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 30, 2025

All-Star catcher Will Smith will be available after seemingly showing enough during a workout at Dodger Stadium on Monday.

The obvious headliners being left off are Conforto and Banda.

Conforto's struggles have been thoroughly chronicled as he finished the regular season with a .199 batting average. Some believed he'd be on the roster as a guy who could provide occasional pop from the left side as well as the ability to get on base via the walk. However, his inability to make contact, coupled with shoddy defense in left field, ultimately resulted in being sidelined.

The Dodgers also decided to go 'lighter' on their stable of arms which likely was based on this being a best-of-three series. Including Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers will have 12 available arms to utilize.

The decision to keep Banda off was a curious one given he was 5-1 this season with a 3.18 ERA. Making the move even more interesting was the fact that youngsters Justin Wrobleski and Jack Dreyer were preferred to a guy who pitched in the World Series last year.

Smith's availability is something that likely was a last-minute decision. The star catcher faced Bobby Miller on Monday in live at-bats. Clearly there was enough for the front office to feel comfortable in having him on the roster.

It may be asking a lot of Smith to resume his role as the starting catcher — and as such there's a high likelihood he'll be utilized in this series as a pinch hitter.

With the smaller number of pitchers on the roster, the team has included more position players — and ones giving the team more athleticism, positional versatility, and defensive chops.

Justin Dean was probably the most shocking inclusion to the team. Despite not having one career hit in the big leagues, he'll be on this roster solely as a late inning defender/pinch runner.

The same can effectively be said for Alex Call and Hyeseong Kim. Call is a lefty masher — and the Reds do have two really good left-handed arms in Nick Lodolo and Andrew Abbott.

Kim is the fastest player on the team and as such will give the team a threat on the base paths should they be chasing a run. The decision to have Tyler Glasnow on the roster over a traditional reliever is something to watch for given that Glasnow doesn't have much experience coming out of the 'pen.

Aside from the minor quibbling, this is still a very talented roster — and one that appears to be more athletic and defensively-gifted than it was even a week ago.

For more Dodgers news, head over to Dodgers on SI.